Bacon Bacchanalia

KSRO recipe contest highlights the ingredient that won't die

Bacon has become the Brangelina of food. No longer relegated to Sunday brunch, this culinary celebrity has infiltrated everything from s'mores to baklava to martinis, even wrapping its way around tofu.

So it makes sense that the KSRO Good Food Hour is featuring the sumptuous slab in this year's 26th annual recipe contest. "I can't think of an ingredient that generates such passion when you mention it or excitement when you hear it sizzle," says co-host and chef John Ash. "It's truly nature's perfect food."

Previous contests have profiled tamales, almonds, coffee, potato salad and, in its very first year, fruitcake. Between 50 and 100 participants are expected, especially "given how saturated the bacon market has become," says Good Food Hour co-host Steve Garner.

Four lucky finalists will bring their bacon-y dishes to G&G Supermarket in Santa Rosa on Saturday, Nov. 3, for the Good Food Hour broadcast and taste-off with Garner and chef Ash. Between 11am and noon, a panel of celebrity judges will select the winners, who stand to receive prizes that include gift certificates, cookbooks, wine and cooking classes.